Frank Lowy tops Rich 200

Frank Lowy
, executive chairman of shopping centre giant Westfield Group, is the new richest person in Australia. Lowy tops the BRW Rich 200 list for the first time ever this year, with a $5.04 billion fortune – up from $4.2 billion in 2009.

The rest of the rich have also come through the economic downturn with flying colours. This year’s Rich 200, published on Thursday, May 28 shows that the average wealth on the list has reached a record $738.3 million billion, which means every person on the list is on average $110 million better off than a year ago.

Iron ore mining magnate
Gina Rinehart
is second on the list with wealth of $4.75 billion, thanks to increased production at her privately owned mines and higher commodity prices.

Last year’s number one,
Anthony Pratt
, is in third position with $4.6 billion. Pratt, the owner of cardboard manufacturing and recycling giant Visy has boosted his wealth by $300 million in the past year but has been passed on the list by Lowy and Rinehart.

Andrew Forrest
, chief executive of Fortescue Metals Group, is in fourth position with $4.24 billion, followed by Meriton Apartments owner
Harry Triguboff
in fifth place at $4.2 billion.

Federal parliamentarian
Malcolm Turnbull
once again makes the Rich 200, with $186 million. BRW also researched the wealth of all members of the House of Representatives, finding that the average wealth of Liberal members, $4.9 million, is almost three times that of Labor MPs, $1.7 million.

In addition to the Rich 200, BRW also tracks Australia’s richest families. This year there are 57 families on the list, including eight families with billion-dollar fortunes. The wealthiest family is the Smorgon family, with a fortune of $2.57 billion. The total wealth of the families on the list is $34.1 billion, up from $32.6 billion last year.